Study Overview : e-SAATHI
e-Saathi is a digital, chat-based maternal health intervention designed to support women across the entire pregnancy and postnatal journey. It integrates digital health, self-care, and health financing pathways to improve access, awareness, and utilization of maternal health services.
he platform enables continuous engagement with women by delivering timely, personalized, and stage-specific information, helping them navigate complex healthcare systems and make informed decisions. At its core, e-Saathi aims to bridge the gap between health systems and women’s lived realities, particularly in resource-constrained settings.
The Problem
spite significant policy efforts, maternal health outcomes in India remain uneven, especially in underserved regions. A large proportion of women continue to face systemic and demand-side barriers that limit access to quality care.
Key challenges include:
These barriers significantly impact timely care-seeking, adherence, and overall maternal health outcomes, highlighting the need for integrated, scalable solutions.
Objective
The e-Saathi initiative is designed to strengthen maternal health outcomes through a multi-dimensional approach.
The key objectives are to:
Enable better navigation across public and private healthcare systems
Study Design
The e-Saathi model is built on the intersection of three critical domains:
Health Financing: Leveraging existing pro-poor maternal health policies
Digital Health: Chat-based engagement and mobile health ecosystems
Self-Care: Empowering women with knowledge and agency
The intervention is implemented through a chat-based digital platform (AskNivi) that delivers:
This approach enables continuous, real-time engagement, ensuring that women receive support throughout their maternal journey.
Intervention:
Outcome Measures:
Primary measures:
Secondary measures:
Key Findings
Evidence from the study highlights the transformative potential of digital health interventions in maternal care.
Key insights include:
These findings reinforce the importance of combining digital tools with behavioral and system-level interventions.
Impact
e-Saathi is designed to create meaningful, real-world impact across the maternal health ecosystem.
Key impact areas:
The intervention shifts care delivery from episodic interactions to continuous engagement.
Highlight
Timely, personalized digital support can transform maternal health outcomes at scale
Global Significance
The e-Saathi model offers a scalable and adaptable solution for addressing maternal health challenges globally. Its broader relevance includes:
Applicability in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)
Alignment with global priorities on women’s empowerment and digital health
Demonstration of integrating digital, financial, and self-care interventions
Potential to inform national programs and global health strategies
It presents a pathway toward more equitable, accessible, and patient-centered healthcare systems.
The e-Saathi initiative is led by a multidisciplinary collaboration bringing together expertise across public health, technology, and clinical care.
Key partners include:
In collaboration with:
This collaboration ensures a strong foundation in research, implementation, and scalability.
A peer-reviewed study validating the role of digital health, self-care, and financing approaches in improving maternal health outcomes.
We welcome collaborations with:
By supporting initiatives like e-Saathi, you contribute to advancing evidence-based solutions that strengthen healthcare systems and improve outcomes for mothers and children globally.